“Oh my God, you’re Chief Schmidt, aren’t you? Are you here to arrest me?”Fuck.It was worse than he’d feared.
The man smiled, though he cast another worried glance over Vahin’s shoulder toward Daniel. “No. I’m not, but I wanted to do this in person. And Officer Barton said you’d be here.”
“Oh.” So Marlon knew. Surely if the worst had happened, he would’ve given Vahin a warning. Something. He patted his thigh. Yep, phone was still there. There’d been no call.
Chief Schmidt looked around. “Is there a private place we can talk?”
“Sure!” Vahin stood and searched the bar for where to go.
Daniel pointed across the dining room. “Office, Vahin. Office. And you need to breathe.”
“Right. Office.” He turned back to Chief Schmidt. “This way.”
Steven had left more than an hour before, so Vahin didn’t bother knocking. He opened the door and walked in, then made room for the chief. “Sorry, it’s cramped.”
Chief Schmidt entered and angled his body back so Vahin could close the door. “No problem.” He sat in Steven’s chair when Vahin motioned toward it.
Vahin thought he might hyperventilate if he had to wait much longer. “So there’s news?”
“Yes.” The chief reached out a hand and surprised Vahin by placing it on his forearm and giving a slight squeeze before pulling away. “And it’s all good news. I wasn’t trying to stress you out by coming here.”
White light seemed to explode behind Vahin’s eyes. “I’m sorry, what? It’s all okay?”
He smiled. “Yes. It’s all okay.”
Vahin sagged in the tiny chair, his breath rushing from him. His eyes stung. He couldn’t think of what to say.
Probably worried that Vahin was going to pass out, Chief Schmidt regrouped his professional demeanor. “I’ll make it quick. Everything is going to be dismissed against you. You won’t have to go to court, there’s no more ticket, no more anything.”
“Really?” He’d spent every moment hoping to hear those words, but some part of him had refused to believe they would happen. Not to him.
“Yes. I won’t go into detail, but I’m willing to bet someone else we both know will. Even if he’s not supposed to.” A smile played at the corner of Chief Schmidt’s lips.
Vahin sank impossibly lower in the chair, his mind playing with the idea of actually believing what the man said. “Okay. That’s….” There was no word for what that was. Another thought hit him. “What about Mary’s? Will they still have to—”
“That’s dismissed too. There is no ticket for this establishment either.”
Vahin’s skin was tingling. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, you’re very lucky.” A shadow crossed Chief Schmidt’s face. “Actually, no. Luck had nothing to do with it. Those tickets shouldn’t have existed in the first place. You’re simply getting justice.”
Those words broke something free in Vahin, released the hold guilt had claimed over him the past few weeks. He wiped at his eyes, refusing to cry in front of the chief. “Thank you. And thank you for coming down here to tell me.”
Chief Schmidt laughed. “Actually that part is for my own benefit. It most definitely isn’t protocol. I wanted to meet you.”
Vahin sat up a little straighter and wiped his eyes once more before clearing his throat. “You did?”
“I did.” The chief nodded. “Officer Barton is very important to me, and he’s a phenomenal officer. There’s been a change in him lately, even with all the stress happening. I wanted to meet the man responsible for it.”
“Oh.” Vahin wasn’t sure what to say to that, but his heart sped up for an entirely different reason.
There was a fatherly protectiveness in Chief Schmidt’s expression as he inspected Vahin. “I’m not going to threaten you if you break his heart or anything like that. Even if I’d mean it.” He narrowed his eyes. “I wanted to meet you for myself and to make sure you knew what a good man Marlon Barton is. I hope you recognize that and treat him accordingly.”
Vahin took a moment to respond. He didn’t get the sense that he was supposed to be intimidated, at least not much. More than anything, he felt like he was meeting an important member of Marlon’s family and needed to pass some sort of test. “I do, sir. I’m constantly blown away by how wonderful Marlon is.”
The chief nodded, studied Vahin for a moment longer, then stood and stuck out his hand. “Good to meet you, son. I’m glad this is all over and done for you. For both of you.”
Vahin shook his hand. “Thank you, sir.” He wasn’t sure, but he thought the chief had found whatever he’d been looking for. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
